MINNEAPOLIS – On Friday night in Minnesota, the Twins were a force, and the Red Sox were unable to reckon.

The home team rode into the series on a 10-game winning streak, and kept it going with a 5-2 victory in the series opener.

After erasing Jarren Duran – who led off the game reaching on an error by shortstop Carlos Correa – and Rafael Devers, who followed with a double, Chris Paddack dispatched the Boston bats effortlessly over the remainder of his six shutout innings. He allowed one more hit – a leadoff single to Ceddanne Rafaela in the top of the third – issued one walk, and struck out six.

“Struck out a lot,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I think the first inning, kind of like, we missed a big opportunity there … after that, we didn’t put too much together.”

“The fastball played better than it’s been playing before,” Cora said. “(Paddack) was up in the zone and he had some vertical, 17 inches, and we weren’t able to put the breaks. Tip your hat to him, he’s a good one. He can mix it up.”

The lineup barely saw any action on the basepaths – held to four hits, one walk and 13 strikeouts – but Vaughn Grissom saw plenty in his Red Sox debut. Tanner Houck induced nine groundouts, including four started by the team’s new second baseman. Grissom’s first defensive highlight was the double play he turned in the bottom of the fourth, erasing a leadoff walk and single.

“He did a good job, made some plays,” Cora said with a smile. “We gotta get the position down. He wanders like Xander (Bogaerts). He wants to be the leader and he talks to the first baseman, and the pitcher, and the shortstop, and then he looks and he’s a little bit out of position. We’ll get that one right, but for his first game, he was good. It was good to see him, he’s a good player.”

Houck, meanwhile, held the Twins to one run over his first six innings.

“He was excellent,” Cora said of his starter. “We needed him to go deep into the game, coming from (Thursday’s) game and tomorrow, knowing where we’re at with the bullpen game. I mean, yesterday was a bullpen game, too.

“That’s what the good ones do,” the manager continued. “When you need innings, he goes out there. And it’s not like he just gave us innings. He gave us a chance to win.”

Houck returned for the seventh but was unable to record an out. He allowed back-to-back singles to begin the frame, and Castro’s sacrifice and a throwing error by Reese McGuire extended the Twins’ lead to 2-0.

“There. I mean, he’s out by a mile,” Cora said, “(McGuire) just threw it away.”

It felt more like a 20-0 hole for the Red Sox, who’d struck out swinging in each of their last four at-bats, and the chasm only grew when Naoyuki Uwasawa took over. After making his Major League debut with two solid innings in Thursday’s 3-1 loss at Fenway, the Japanese right-hander opened the floodgates. After a first-pitch strike, he threw four balls to issue a bases-loading walk.

When Alex Kirilloff ground into a force out, Grissom was able to prevent a run by throwing to McGuire to make the out at home, but the bases remained loaded. A violation on Uwasawa walked in a run, and Ryan Jeffers’ double plated two more. Ultimately, the entire Twins lineup came to bat before Uwasawa got Correa to strike out looking.

By the top of the eighth, the Red Sox were just hoping to avoid a shutout. They were able to accomplish that, at least. McGuire reached on a hit-by-pitch, and Duran followed with a single, the lineup’s first hit since the third.

In 20 other ballparks, Devers’ hit would’ve been a home run. He settled for a double and a pair of runs batted in, Boston’s first run scored since the third inning the afternoon before.

To preserve the bullpen for Saturday, Cora sent Uwasawa back out for the bottom of the eighth.

“He pitched two innings yesterday, so what he did today is, that’s big-league stuff,” the manager said. “Understanding that we needed bullets there to save the bullpen, to save the staff for tomorrow, that’s what guys do.”

With the Twins leading 5-2, closer Jhoan Duran entered for the top of the ninth and picked up right where the rest of the bullpen left off: mowing down their guests.

The Red Sox are 2-9 when their opponent scores first.